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A key interesting point that highlights how increased efficiency creates choking points and fragility: >Shay Assad: We have nowhere else to go. For many of the
by Ambolia 3y ago
A key interesting point that highlights how increased efficiency creates choking points and fragility:
>Shay Assad: We have nowhere else to go. For many of these weapons that are being sent over to Ukraine right now, there's only one supplier. And the companies know it.
>It wasn't always like this. The roots of the problem can be traced to 1993, when the Pentagon, looking to cut costs, urged defense companies to merge. Fifty one major contractors consolidated to five giants.
- stracer 3y agoHow would suppressing the competition cut costs? >Shay Assad: The landscape has totally changed. In the '80s, there was intense competition amongst a number of companies. And so the government had choices. They had leverage. We have limited leverage now.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y agoThey were probably not considering it under a frame of suppressing competition. If they have people spending a lot of time keeping track of various contractors (who can do what, what capacity is available from whom, etc.) then consolidating those contractors to just a handful might be a cost-cutting measure.